


You Keep Me Warm

by crimsontheory



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Penguins, Zoo, that's pretty much it nothing really happens in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 19:25:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19447987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsontheory/pseuds/crimsontheory
Summary: Louis took his younger siblings to the zoo for the day and ended up finding something even cuter than the baby penguins.





	You Keep Me Warm

**Author's Note:**

> So, writing a fic in a week is HARD. I struggled with this challenge last year so I don't really know why I wanted to put myself through the torture again this year. I'm a masochist apparently. I don't think this turned out quite as cute as it was in my head, but I tried!
> 
> I'm don't even think you can have emperor penguins in a zoo because they live in like negative degree temperatures, but uhhh, this is fiction so just roll with it. Even though penguins are my second favorite animal, I don't know much about them other than they're cute af. I watched a documentary about emperors a few years ago, and that's where I got all my information for this. And by information, I mean the two lines of dialogue that talks about penguins.
> 
> Thank you to Molly for being the best beta and cheerleader a girl could ask for. I'd be lost without her.
> 
> This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge for the prompt "fluffy". To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fluffy), and to see all fics written as part of the challenge (including years 1 and 2), [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/wordplay_fic_challenge/works). You can also find the masterpost for this year’s challenge [here](https://wordplayfics.tumblr.com/post/185709101043/wordplay-2019-every-week-for-five-weeks-a-prompt).
> 
> Title is taken from Tip Of The Iceberg by Owl City.

The grip on his hand slipped as they moved their way through throngs of people. It was much busier than Louis had anticipated, but then again, visiting the zoo on a Saturday in the middle of June probably wasn’t the best idea. 

“Doris?” Louis called out, trying not to panic, she had to be nearby. His eyes scanned the crowd for a little head of red curls. 

“Ernie,” he said, turning to face his younger brother who was still gripping tightly to his left hand. “Have you seen your sister?”

“I’m right here,” came a little voice from behind Louis followed by a tug to the back of his shirt. He swirled around and saw Doris smiling up at him, her eyes squinted in the sunlight. 

A wave of relief washed over him as he reached for her hand, her smaller one easily fitting into his. It was a total of probably five seconds that he lost sight of her, but they were up there among the scariest seconds of his life. He didn’t know what he would do without her.

She was a smart girl, surely she would know to go the information desk or at least the front gate if they ever got separated. No, he wasn’t even going to allow himself to think like that, she was here, her hand firmly back in his and everything was okay. 

Louis crouched down so he was eye level with his siblings. “I know there are quite a bit of people, but try to stay close okay and don’t let go of my hand. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

They both nodded and Louis stood up, pulling them away from the crowd and further into the zoo. Thankfully, once they were away from the front entrance, there were fewer people around and Louis was able to find an empty bench for them to sit. He walked toward it, taking a seat in the middle, the twins following along and sitting on either side of him. 

Louis pulled the map out from his pocket that he shoved in there earlier when a zoo employee handed it to him after they had their tickets scanned. It was a bit wrinkled now, but he unfolded it and smoothed it out with his hands as best as he could before laying it across his lap.

“Okay,” he began, placing his finger on the map for where they were. “We’re right here, so we can go this way,” he moved his finger along the line leading out to the left. “Which leads to the cats; so lions and tigers and all that. Or we could go this way,” he dragged his finger back down the line and out to the right this time. “Which will take us to the giraffes and the elephants. What sounds good to you?”

It really didn’t matter which way they went because the whole zoo was basically a giant circle, so they’d be able to see all the animals in either direction. But he wanted to give them an option, make sure they saw what they really wanted to see first. 

Both of the twins peered down at the map, their eyes scanning over the little pictures of the animals dotted over the page. Ernest took his finger and pointed to the picture of the lion. “I want to see the cats!”

Louis turned to Doris, wanting to check if that was alright with her before making a final decision. “Cats okay with you, Dori?”

She nodded as she stood from the bench, straightening out the straps of her backpack and reaching out for Louis’ hand. Louis smiled, taking her hand and standing from the bench as well, turning around to do the same with Ernest, and headed down the path to their left. 

There was quite a large crowd huddled in front of the lion enclosure when they arrived. Louis stood off toward the back of the group and allowed the twins to push forward on their own. It would be easier for them to squeeze through the gaps of people than it would be for him. 

A little chunk of the group broke off and moved on to other exhibits, giving Louis a perfect view of the lions and he now realized why there was such a large crowd around them to begin with. One of the lions was lying down with their back pressed up against the glass of the enclosure. 

He made his move, waking right up toward the front were Doris and Ernest were standing with their hands pressed to the glass. He squatted down in between them, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. “She must be taking a little nap,” Louis said, which, _relatable_. He woke up quite early to have enough time to pick up the twins and bring them to the zoo by the time it opened.

“How do you know it’s a girl?” Ernest asked, turning his attention to Louis just long enough to ask the question before looking back at the lion. 

“Because she doesn’t have a mane,” Louis answered. “All the long hair around the face, only males have that. So this one is a female or a lioness. And the female lions do most of the hunting and gathering food for their pack. So basically, the females are the most badass.”

“Obviously,” Doris said. Louis laughed, squeezing her closer to his side and kissing the top of her head. 

He allowed the twins just a couple more minutes with the lion before he told them they had to move along to let other people get up close. The didn’t put up a fight, but it was obvious by the pouts on their faces that they weren’t happy about leaving. That quickly faded into excitement as soon as they arrived at the next enclosure. 

They made their way through the rest of the cats; seeing tigers, cougars, and ocelots—which Louis thought were very cute. Next up was the reptile house. 

Doris stayed very close to Louis’ side as they walked through the dark hallways; she didn’t like snakes. Louis couldn’t blame her, he wasn’t much of a fan either. Ernest loved it, gallivanting off in front of them excited to look into each and every tank. 

Louis squinted into the sunlight when they stepped outside, pushing his sunglasses back over his eyes. He looked around the area where they were, trying to figure out where they were headed next. He saw a cafe located about fifty yards away. Perfect. 

“You guys hungry?” 

He received two little nods in response, so it was off to the cafe they went. Louis ordered a basket of chicken nuggets and chips for all three of them and splurged a little on souvenir cups for the twins. 

“So,” Louis said, spreading out the map in front of him on the table so all three of them could get a good look at it. “Next up, we can see the grizzly bears, then we can go to the aviary and see the birds. Then after that, we can check out the penguins and then all the African animals; giraffes, elephants, zebras. Finally, ending it all at the gift shop on the way out. Sound good?”

He turned to his brother and sister and waited for their nods of approval before folding the map up and tucking back into his nuggets. 

After they’d finished their lunch, Louis helped the twins apply more suncream and he dug inside Doris’ backpack for their hats, placing one on each of their heads. It was now midday and it was much hotter than it was when they arrived at the zoo that morning. He didn’t want either of them getting burnt. 

On the way out of the cafeteria, they stopped at the ice cream stand, Louis buying them each an ice cream cone to help keep them cool. He also purchased a few water bottles just in case and tucked them inside Doris’ bag. 

They wandered down the crowded pathways until they reached the bears. There was a gap between people just big enough for the three of them to squeeze into and be right up next to the railing. There seemed to be only two bears in the exhibit; one lying down in the back corner and the other walking along the stream at the front of their enclosure. 

Louis watched as Ernest placed his feet on the bottom rung of the railing and started to lean over to get a better look. Louis quickly rushed up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him securely against his chest. He definitely didn’t want his brother falling into the bear habitat.

They strolled through the aviary next, watching all the brightly coloured birds fly around above them. Louis bought a bag of bird food for each of the twins and they placed some in their hands, laughing in delight as birds swooped down to eat right out of their hands. Louis snapped some pictures and sent a couple off to his mum. 

As they approached the penguin building, Louis noticed a sign posted out front that read _come see our emperor chicks!_

“What’s that mean?” Doris asked, pointing to the sign. A cute furrow of confusion between her brows. 

“It means they have baby penguins,” Louis explained. 

Doris squealed with excitement, grabbing onto Louis’ hand and pulling him toward the building. “C’mon, Lou Lou, I wanna see!”

Louis laughed as he was dragged down the path, checking over his shoulder to make sure Ernest was following. 

The building was practically empty. There was one family at the opposite end and another one that was leaving as they entered, Louis holding the door open for them. He noticed a few signs posted around the zoo for a newborn giraffe, so he assumed that was where most everyone was. 

The best thing about seeing the penguins was that the building was air-conditioned. Walking through the non-air-conditioned reptile house felt like torture because it was so hot and stuffy. There was also a lot of snakes everywhere and that wasn’t all that fun either. 

The cool air felt like heaven against Louis’ hot and sweaty skin. Maybe he could convince the twins to spend the rest of the day in here instead; the heat outside was unbearable. It only seemed to be getting hotter and hotter. And penguins were quite cute so it didn’t seem like it would be such a hardship. 

They wander down the hallway, stopping to look in on different species of penguins; from Humboldt to chinstrap to crested which seemed to be Ernest’s favourite. He loved their yellow hair. 

At the very end is the largest room with the emperors. Doris gasped as soon as they reached it, running straight to the glass and pressing her face against it, Ernest following close behind. Louis stayed back to allow the twins to enjoy it and he took a seat on the bench against the opposite wall. 

There was a small group of chicks huddled together near the back of the room and a few adults scattered about. Probably around fifteen or twenty altogether.

Louis was pulling out his phone to take a picture of the twins with the penguins in the background when a zoo employee came through a door in the back wall of the penguin enclosure and his heart stopped. That person might be wrapped up in a jacket and thick clothing, but Louis would recognize those long gangly legs and the curls peeking out from underneath the beanie anywhere. It was Harry. 

Louis’ stomach flipped and he no longer cared about the penguins; he couldn’t take his eyes off Harry. He hadn’t seen him in over a month, now that it was summer and they were no longer in school. 

They’d only spoken maybe a handful of times, probably would have been more than that if Louis wasn’t such a fucking coward. He was a confident guy, never had a problem talking to anyone, even people he was interested in, but there was just something different about Harry that made Louis’ brain turn to mush. Harry was so sweet and humble and just the nicest guy in the world, definitely way too good for Louis. He didn’t have a chance in hell with him. 

He watched as Harry carried a large bucket to the body of water located in the middle of the exhibit. He tipped the bucket over and what looked like fish flopped out and into the water. 

He stood up straighter and looked out through the glass, his eyes locking on Louis’. Louis froze, was pretty sure he stopped breathing as Harry blinked back at him. Slowly, Louis could see the recognition dawn on Harry’s face and he smiled, raising his hand to wave. 

Louis _thought_ he was smiling, at least he was definitely trying too, but his brain was currently melting out of his ears and he wasn’t quite sure what was happening on his face. He did see his arm raise in his peripheral as he gave a tentative wave back. 

Harry disappeared through the same door he entered through and Louis finally let out the breath he was holding. That went _decently_ , he didn’t think he embarrassed himself too badly. At least there was a glass wall separating them so there was no conversation involved because that definitely would have led to Louis’ downfall. 

Just as Louis was getting comfortable again, tuning back into what the twins were talking about, a door at the end of the hallway opened and Harry walked through, headed straight toward them. Louis tried to act natural and not like an entire swarm of butterflies were having a rave inside of his belly. 

“Louis, hi. I thought that was you,” Harry said once he was a few feet away from the bench where Louis was sitting. So much for no conversation. Louis took a deep breath before turning to face Harry. He could do this. 

“You know who I am?” Perfect. Off to a brilliant start. Why couldn’t Louis just talk to him? He was just a boy. A ridiculously pretty boy, but still. It must have been the dimples.

“Of course,” Harry replied, chuckling. “We had two classes together last semester.”

Right. That was true. They’d exchanged pleasantries a few times in those classes. 

“Oh,” Harry said in surprise, pulling Louis’ attention back to him. “Are they yours?”

Louis cocked his head in confusion. Was what his? He followed Harry’s line of vision and saw he was looking at the twins who were still pressed up against the glass watching the penguins. Oh. 

“No, they’re my younger siblings,” Louis answered, confused by what looked like _relief_ flash over Harry’s face. “I told my mum I’d take them out for the day, get them out of her hair for a bit. I don’t get to spend as much time with them as I’d like between work and school, so I take any little chance I can get.”

Harry smiled, dimples carved deep into his cheeks causing Louis’ stomach to swoop as he perched on the bench next to Louis. “That’s sweet, I can tell you really love them.”

God, Harry didn’t even know the half of it. Those two little kids were Louis’ entire world. “Yeah, I really do.”

Harry stood from the bench and approached the twins, looking back at Louis over his shoulder, question evident in his eyes. Louis nodded his approval and Harry knelt down between them, greeting them with a smile. 

“Do you guys have any questions about the penguins?”

“Why are the babies so fluffy?” Doris asked, her eyes alight with interest. 

“They’re just born that way,” Harry responded. “They’re born with a thin layer of down which is the fluffy stuff you see. When they get older they’ll shed and grow the plumage that the adults have. And because the down they’re covered with is very thin, they’re completely reliant on their parents and each other to keep them warm, that’s why they’re all huddled together.” 

Harry pointed to an adult penguin that was off by themselves in the corner. “You see that one, that’s one of our mummy penguins and if you look closely you can see a chick balanced on her feet. There’s a little pouch there that they use to keep their babies warm.”

The twins _ooh_ and _ahh_ in excitement. Louis smiled as he watched, Harry was so good with them. Louis started to imagine Harry with his own kids, with _their_ own kids. As soon as that thought popped into his head, he shook his head to clear it. It wasn’t appropriate to go down that path right now. He didn’t even know if Harry was interested in men. 

“Okay well, my break is almost over so I should get going,” Harry said, now standing in front of Louis. He couldn’t believe that Harry chose to spend his break with him. 

“Yeah, we should probably be moving on to see the rest of the animals,” Louis said, feeling a little reluctant to leave Harry. 

Louis grabbed the twins attention, telling them it was time to move on. He was already dreading going back out into the heat. 

“Um,” Harry muttered, awkwardly standing in front of the employee door. “Louis, can I talk to you for a second before you go.”

Louis nodded and told his siblings to wait for him by the exit door. “Sure.”

“This is sort of embarrassing, but um, I’m taking this as some sort of sign that you’re here right now and if I don’t take the chance I’ll never forgive myself,” Harry’s shuffled his feet, twisting his hands nervously. “I’ve fancied you for, like, ever and I get off work at six and if you don’t have any plans tonight I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me. We can grab dinner or go see a movie, whatever you want to do.”

Louis blinked. Did Harry really just say that he fancied Louis? This perfect angel of a boy actually _liked_ Louis. He must have been dreaming. “What?” 

Harry’s face paled and he backtracked, stepping back until his back was pressed against the door. “God, I’m so sorry. Of course you wouldn’t want to go on a date with me, you’re way out of my league. Sorry, forget I said anything. Have a good day.” And then he was disappearing through the employee door before Louis had a chance to say anything. 

Louis was left staring at the closed door, his mind reeling with a million questions. What the hell just happened? He was tempted to just push open the door and search for Harry, tell him that he literally wanted nothing more than to go on a date with him, but he didn’t want to be kicked out of the zoo. Or banned for life. The twins would hate him. 

Louis sighed, accepting defeat and met back up with his siblings. They continued on through the rest of the zoo, seeing the elephants and the zebras and even the newborn giraffe. It was quite cute, Louis had to admit, but the penguins were cuter. The boy who worked with the penguins was even cuter than _that_ , but with those long legs of his, he kind of resembled a giraffe. 

They wrapped everything up at the gift shop, Louis telling the twins they were allowed to pick out one item each. As he was standing in line to pay, something on a display behind the cash registers caught his attention. He asked Ernest to hold his place in the queue while he went to grab it. 

He dropped the twins back off at his mum’s, stopping inside for a cup of tea with her because he could never resist. They caught up over tea and biscuits, Louis telling her about their trip to the zoo and showing her all the picture he took on his phone. 

He noticed the time as he was swiping through the last few pictures and he had to leave now or else he’d be late. “Okay mum, it’s been lovely to chat but I’ve got to run.”

He stood from the table, leaving his empty mug and waving goodbye to his mum. He’d almost made it to the front door when her voice stopped him. “Who is he?”

Louis froze, his hand hovering above the door handle. He turned around slowly, hoping his face was neutral. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She narrowed her eyes, giving him that _look_ like she was able to read every thought inside his head. “You’ve never been very good at hiding things from me.”

That was true, he’s never been able to. It wasn’t like he was _trying_ to his this from her, he just really didn’t have time to talk about it right now because he didn’t want to be late. “I’ll tell you about it soon, I promise, but I’ve really got to go or I’ll be late.”

“Alright,” she sighed. “I’ll be waiting for an update. Have fun and I love you.”

“Love you too!” He called out as he was rushing out the door. 

It was two minutes until six and Louis was awkwardly loitering outside the front entrance of the zoo. It closed an hour ago, so the car park was practically deserted, a few cars dotted here and there that Louis assumed belonged to the employees. 

People would filter out through the entrance, but none of them was the person that Louis was waiting for. Just as he was about to give up hope and head home, that person walked out. 

“Harry,” Louis called out to him. 

Harry spun around, hand pressed against his chest. “Louis? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for our date,” Louis explained. 

“Wait, what?” Harry said slowly. “Are you really?”

“Yes really,” Louis huffed out a laugh. “I would have told you that earlier if you hadn’t run off on me.” 

Harry’s cheeks grew red and he ducked his head in embarrassment. Fuck, he was cute. “I’m sorry, I was so nervous. I never thought you would want to go out with me.”

“Of course I would. I’ve fancied you for, like, ever as well,” Louis said and Harry’s smile at that made Louis lose his breath. “Oh, and I brought you something.” He held out the little stuffed penguin he was holding behind his back that he bought at the gift shop earlier. It was wearing a little t-shirt with the name of the zoo printed across it. “I know it’s cheesy and you probably already have something similar, but it made me think of you.”

“Thank you, that’s so sweet,” Harry took the penguin from Louis and straightened out its shirt. He looked up at Louis before stepping close and pulling him in for a kiss. It was just a quick brush of their lips together more than anything, but it still sent a spark down Louis’ spine.

“Before we go, I just need to stop at my flat first for a change of clothes and a shower,” Harry said. “I’m covered in penguin shit.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ireallysawanagel](http://ireallysawanangel.tumblr.com) on tumblr, so come say hi!  
> I made a really [shitty edit](https://ireallysawanangel.tumblr.com/post/186003755319) on tumblr that you can reblog if you'd like!


End file.
